1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to article dispensers, particularly to such dispensers designed to dispense by stripping off surface adhered articles.
2. Description of Prior Art
Commonly, dispensers are designed to deliver individually wrapped or unwrapped articles to the user. Such dispensers have been designed and used in the following ways: by consumers to organize and dispense personal items, such as medications; by businesses to deliver products to customers; and by manufacturers to contain and dispense materials needed in the manufacturing process. No dispenser has been invented, however, that can unwrap an individual article in the process of dispensing the article--thereby adding immensely to the user's convenience in using the article dispensed.
In the case of wrapped articles, inventors have created several types of dispensers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,002 to Malcolm (1988) describes a packet dispenser. Oldorf's invention, however, does not provide for unwrapping the article but instead merely dispenses it. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,540 to Beasley and Dinand (1991) describes multiple dispensers; again, however, the articles are not unwrapped as part of the dispensing process.
The prior art does not show a wrapper that works in conjunction with a dispenser to unwrap the article as it is dispensed. While U.S. Pat. No. 3,652,006 to Trewella (1972) discloses a wrapper that can be easily peeled apart by the user, it does not describe a wrapper, mechanism or method whereby a wrapped article is removed from its wrapping while being dispensed.
Neither the dispensers or wrappers described above nor any other prior art describe the release of an individual article from its individual wrapper as the user pulls the wrapped article from the dispenser; nor do the dispensers or prior art show a wrapper that is attached to a dispenser in such a manner that the wrapped item is ejected from the wrapper as the user removes the article from the dispenser. The prior art, then, does not offer a dispenser which economically enhances the speed and ease with which a sealed article is delivered to the user--attributes which would facilitate and/or encourage the use of the article.
Two examples are illustrative:
First, convenient and easy access to clean medical products in a doctor's office or emergency room frequently is hampered by current methods and designs for storing and dispensing products such as sutures, bandages, and other wrapped articles. Currently, most sutures and bandages are packaged in boxes. The user must search for the box and then for the individual item before even opening the item's sterile wrapper. The boxes are generally stored in drawers, cabinets or shelves. For example, in a medical emergency, the need for fast, efficient dispensing of articles can be critical to positive outcomes of treatment. The current invention obviates all these inconveniences and inefficiencies. Medical workers would find greater access to and improved ease-of-use for various wrapped products through use of the dispenser described by the present invention.
Second, increased ease and more frequent use of certain articles such as condoms by users could reap substantial social benefits if a dispenser is available to unwrap and dispense the article. For example, the federal government now openly promotes the use of condoms to avert the spread of the AIDS virus and other sexually transmitted diseases. However, as currently packaged and dispensed, condoms are inconvenient and difficult to use. People are likely to store the condoms in purses, wallets, bathroom cabinets, under the bed, and in many other inconvenient places. This discourages use at a time when the condom is actually needed. If the condom is not readily accessible, the likelihood of its use diminishes. More specifically, male condoms are often packaged in individual wrappers which are joined together using perforations between the wrappers. The user must therefore undertake, usually in a poorly-lit (night-time) environment, the following steps to use the condom: 1) locate the condoms, 2) separate a wrapped condom from the other wrapped condoms, 3) tear open a wrapped condom, and 4) determine how to position the condom so that it unrolls properly. Each of these steps, inconvenient and frustrating to the user, is remedied by the present Huck/Barbieri invention.
All dispensers heretofore known suffer from the following disadvantages:
(a) Once dispensed, the wrapped articles must still be unwrapped by the user, adding frustration or error if time is of the essence to the user, a problem compounded if multiple dispensings are necessary in a short period of time. Moreover, if the user is wearing latex gloves, the difficulty is further aggravated. PA1 (b) The appropriate positioning of the article must be determined by the user, perhaps in a hurried or dimly lit environment. PA1 (a) The invention can be installed in a convenient location and in any position; PA1 (b) The invention can dispense articles individually; PA1 (c) The invention can dispense articles such that they become unwrapped as they are dispensed; PA1 (d) The invention can dispense articles such that they are presented to the user in a known position, making use of the article easier; and PA1 (e) In the case of condoms, the resulting ease-of-use may encourage the use of condoms and, therefore, may reduce the spread of sexually-transmitted diseases.